In his early twenties when he he had just got married a year back, life was at it s best for Mahantesh Mali. Working in industries in Udyambag he was leading a happy life. But this was not to be, on his birthday it self in 1993 he was diagnosed for being HIV positive. It was a shock of life time for him. He then became very weak and doctors said that he could live for another two years for a maximum. Mahantesh was out of his mind and he was grasping end to be very near. He weighed only 28 kgs in 1994 and could not even drink water, he was just a piece of bones.

The thought that he would die was eating him. His wife stood next to him not knowing what had happened to her husband. She decided to live life positively and encouraged Mahantesh to look at life positively and one day he too decided that, lets face it and he removed all the bad thoughts from his mind and decided to work for the welfare of HIV positive patients. He was very good at speaking and making one understand in his own language. With time two years passed by and nothing happened to him. This gave him more confidence to enjoy life and take it as it comes and today in 2010 Mahantesh Mali is the president of the Spandana network which looks after the welfare of HIV patients.
He is healthy and takes only a single medicine and is now father of a two year old (HIV Negative) child leading a happy life with his wife and many children.

Yes many children, he just started Nandana Makkala Dhama which houses 30 children from various areas of Belgaum district who are all HIV positives and all have been either left off by their parents or they have no one to take care of.

Nandana Makkala Dhama

Nandana Makkala Dhama is an initiative of staff of Spandana Network with Mr.Mahantesh R Mali at the helm of affiars. The Makkala Dhama formally inaugurated by Mr. Manjunath BH, Regional Commissioner, Belgaum and Dr. Ashok Muragod, District Superintendent, Belgaum on 31st December 2008.

The staffs of the Spandana Network decided to start an orphan home for the HIV positive children feeling their needs in the district. The staffs contributed their one month salary for this noble cause. The network also did an advocacy with Children and Welfare Department and succeeded to get a building for 10 years. The Honorable Minister Mr. Balachandra Jarkiholi donated an Ambulance for this cause.

This is the first such hostel in north Karnataka working without any government aid.

A small interview with Mahantesh Mali:

What is that you would like to say to all about HIV positives?

Nobody dies of AIDS they all die of fear and stigma. It is our duty to spread awareness so that society treats people living with HIV with care and compassion. Social stigma and discrimination killed more people than AIDS. However, the situation was changing as HIV infected people were being accepted by general public. HIV positive people lose immunity and were prone to diseases such as TB, diarrhoea, etc. Providing medicines for such people should be the priority of government hospitals.

Have you got any support from the local MP and MLA’s?

(Laughs) He says we call all of them but we have not received any concrete help anyone local MLA’s and MP’s. We had called Mr.Angadi many a times but he still hasnt visited our functions. Only Mr. Balachandra Jarkiholi donated an ambulance and has promised to construct a building once we get land for our Makkala Dham.

How do you identify these children?

We are on tour on 5 days in various parts of the district and then we try and identify children who are positives or who have been left off by their parents or their parents have expired. We have identified about 700 HIV positives in Belgaum district but we cannot manage all of them dude to lack of funds hence we are only looking after 30 students.

What is that you do at this Makkala Dham?

We get these children from rural areas like Hukkeri, Raibag, Gokak, Savadatti and surrounding areas teach them here for a year and then make arrangements to shift them to govt. school for actual schooling.
During this time we take complete care of them with medicines, food and shelter.

Some of your experiences while working in this field?

Mostly all are bad, but one incident which still hurts me is the case of a school building in Bassavan Kolla(behind Hindalco) which was lying un utilized as the school was shifted from there to a more bigger building. We got permission from all the authorities and just before the day we were supposed to take possession of the building the villagers opposed this and said that we wont allow HIV positive children around our village. Still the said building is lying un utilized for over 8 months now. This stigma from the minds of the people needs to be removed.

How do you manage the expenses of the Makkala Dham?

All the expenses are borne by the staff of Spanadana network. We pay Rs.4000 as rent for the building and then there are food, clothing expenses. Noble people do come forward and donate food, clothing etc but we dont have a continuous inflow of funds.
We really want to expand to our own building but we dont have funds.

There are very noble people around like Mr.Mahesh who donated a TV and a satellite connection so that the children can watch TV. Mahesh also arranged parties on his birthday at the Dham.

One good experience is also has to be mentioned. Just next our present building in Sadashiv nagar we had to open another office under a separate scheme of the Govt. where only registration of the patients would be done. But a lady of the apartment opposed this and field a police complaint. All the residents also joined in, but we explained them that this was only a center for registration and nothing else. But still they did not hear. After a few days of working over there the lady herself came forward and gave us the space for the second office.

What are your current needs?

Our current needs are many but we need cots (muti level) so that we can accommodate all the children in the small space we have. If any one is interested in donating anything they can contact me. It can be in kind or otherwise.

What are your future plans?

Future plan is to build a own building for the Makkala Dham and try and get more children in it.

Do you work only for HIV patients or others as well?

We mainly work for HIV patients but we work for others as well. A few months back there was a old man suffering from leprosy lying on the main road towards KLE hospital. We immediately bought some clothes for him gave him water and called the leprosy mission and got him admitted there. We have performed last rites on 17 people till now with the help of Mr.More Ex mayor.

About Spandana Network:

Spandana Network is a registered society working for and by people living with HIV/AIDS (PLHIV) in Belgaum. It was started in 2005. Spandana Network Belgaum is affiliated to Karnataka Network for people living with HIV/AIDS, a State network of people living with HIV/AIDS. Spandana Network is working in Belgaum District from last four years. Network has registered 4500 PLHIVs including 600 children in which 50 children are orphan or semi orphan (Single Parent). 62 people work under the network selflessly to create awareness about HIV in entire Belgaum district.

At Spandana its not only awareness creation or giving medicines the consecrated staff of the network work all the time to identify people affected with HIV throughout the district and with the same also perform last rites on people who cannot afford or dont want to perform the last rites as the person has died being HIV positive.

On the other side at Spandana they have also managed to marry 17 couples together all being HIV positives. All the married couples are now happily leading a new lease of life.

Nandana Makkala Dhama

Mahantesh R Mali
4^th Cross, Nidhi Building, Near Kannada Marathi primary school, Sadashiv Nagar Belgaum.

Phone: 9611404408
0831- 4209865

By Sahir Kittur & UkMaD

Can you imagine this, we at AAB did not and Sahir hunted for information on the same all over the globe from Iceland to UK and got some confirmation on the same.

There were TWO ships which were named BELGAUM, yes the ships were named Belgaum but experts in Shipping history said that, determination of a specific reason for the name was not historically available.

There are TWO ships which had the name Belgaum both were shipping trawlers.

M.V.BELGAUM RE161 YEAR :- 1916 – vessel type Steam Tug
Vessel Name: Belgaum

Record Number: 1328
Resource Identifier: flod25052006060
Fishing Number: RE161
Type of Vessel: ST
Subsequent Names: Hofdaborg
Year Constructed: 1916

Constructed By: Cochrane & Sons Ltd
Constructed At: Selby
Gross Tons: 337
Length: 140.3 ft
Beam: 24.1 ft
Depth: 13.1 ft
Subsequent Owners: Hofdaborg h/f, Reykjavik
Date Scrapped: 1954/55

M.V.BELGAUM GY218 YEAR :- 1956 Type of Vessel – Motor Tanker

Vessel Name: Belgaum

Record Number: 601750
Resource Identifier: floh24072006005
Fishing Number: GY218
Type of Vessel: MT
Official Number: 184939
Previous Names: Prince Philip
Year Constructed: 1956
Constructed By: Cook, Welton & Gemmell Ltd
Constructed At: Beverley
Gross Tons: 577
Length: 165.4 ft
Beam: 30.3 ft
Depth: 15.3 ft
Engines: Mirlees Bickerton & Day, 1050 BHP, 13 knots
Owner / Manager: Iago Steam Trawling Co
Previous Owners: Abunda Fishing F & T Ross
Subsequent Owners: Dominion Fishing
Date Scrapped: 1979
Place Scrapped: Rainham, Kent

Now the biggest question why were these vessels named as Belgaum?
We could not find an answer do you know? Come on take a guess may be you are correct.

Thanks to:
1.The Fleetwood Motor Trawler site

2.Fleetwood online Archive of Trawlers ( FLOAT )

3.Plimsollshipdata.

No longer are the children with disabilities left on hillside to perish like the days of Sparta, nor do they spend their lives in beds, hospitals. A great deal has changed not only in rehabilitation science but also the social climate has improved. New frontiers in realizing optimal health, wellness, and fitness are being accomplished through research, public policy, advocacy, technological advances, and training and program development. There have been changes in attitude, system, facilities, educational programmes, and school curriculum for the disabled people. The Governments and Non-Government Organisation world over are making endless efforts in this direction. The so called “disabled people” are rather considered “differently abled persons” or also as “differently gifted”. In fact, it is the society, which handicap them by depriving them form the opportunities that they require to lead their lives actively. They do not want any pity but need encouragement in their efforts to overcome the handicaps. The society should see what these people are left with and not what they have lost.

To Bring the disabled persons into mainstream of life requires offering them all possible opportunities, especially physical therapy, to improve their motor capacities. In this regard exercising inside water permits them, irrespective of the handicap, to move quite freely without calipers, sticks, cruches, or wheelchairs. Such an independent exercise programme through unhurting active routines in water is called Aquatherapy. It leads to immeasurable benefits and aims for ABILITY IN WATER as opposed to DISABILITY ON LAND. Aquathreapy emphasizes the prevention and treatment of neuro-muscular complications. It is also useful for those with back problems, joint reconstructions, arthritis, stress related injuries and sports injuries.

Blind by birth he is learning swimming

The Swimmers club and Aquarius club of Belgaum in association with the Rotary Club of Belgaum jointly organize free training camps for such differently abled children like Blind, physically handicapped, mentally retarded etc with the tittle” YES WE CAN”.
Here the children are taught to swim under the guidance of Umesh Kalghatgi, Kusane, Tendolkar and others. These noble people are doing this for many a years now and until today they have trained over 1000 children to swim and have got them into the main stream life.

Blind girl jumping of the platform

Once you see these children you think these are really special children but they cannot walk or talk or see as normal ones. But seeing the enthusiasm at the pool side was amazing. Imagine watching a 12 year old completely blind girl by birth jumping from a 10 feet platform with confidence, is amazing.

Furat & Zeba who hail from Kudachi, Raibag who are suffering from a rare disease and they need very special treatment due to their illness are now getting trained to swim and over come their physical disabilities.

Swayam Bandivadekar aged 5, who is mentally retarded has come here for training as the doctors said medicines wont cure him, so you should try out Aqua therapy.

There are many a success stories here, take Atesh Jadhav, who could not stand straight, after training here for three years he can now stand straight, see you straight in the eye and now he will be going to the aborad to participate in the swimming championship.

Sharad Kumbhar aged 8 years who is from Haveri is here with his parents to get trained and his parents told that they heard about this camp in a news channel and they have put themselves up here at a hotel so that they can get their son treated.

Moin Mustaque Junned, a native of Kudachi in Raibag taluk who has now settled in Belgaum, has been suffering with a rare disease of zero-bone calcium. Due to the delicate nature of his bones, he has hundreds of fractures all over his body. Moin neither could stand on his feet nor eat without someone’s help. Even a slight blow can result in another fracture. The doctors have suggested the family to take utmost care. He won gold medals in 50m freestyle and 50m backstroke. He has been trained here.

Zeba & Furat being trained

The training camp goes on for a period of 25 days and this time 150 children from the age group of 4 years to 14 years are participating. The organizers with the help of some good Samaritan make transport arrangements and also for the costumes of the children. A sum of Rs. One lakh is needed for a 25 days camp and all is arranged by the Aquaris club and Swimmers club with the help of some generous people.

Deaf & Dumb children warming up before getting into the pool

The children are not only trained by the experts but the elder children who have been trained here earlier take active part in training the new children.

After the one hour training all the children are given snacks after which they proceed back to their places of stay.

You Too Can Help !

Knowing your sensitivity to the disabled people the organizers sincerely appeal to you to kindly come forward and extend your full support to such a noble cause :

By introducing the program to some other organizations with similar aims and objects.

By suggesting new means and methods for the treatment of disability through movement education.

By helping to make a sound financial footing and serve the needy better by executing it’s plans.

You can contact: Umesh Kalghatgi – 9448187333 or Prasad Tendolkar – 9845429093.

by Satish Kumar Sr. Engineer MINDSCAPE (IMG) (Dubai)

A bigger miscalculation and miss out from our public representatives need to be show casted.

In 1982 the former CM (Late) Shri Ram Krishan Hegde (from Sirsi) envisaged the growth for Northern Karnataka, drew attention of Rail road projects, Well K-Ride did not exist though, but there something terribly something gone wrong with infrastructure policy in North Karnataka particularly Belgaum.

Shri. Hegde had evinced and proposed the survey and execution of Belgaum Bagalkote Raichur line and Belguam- Dharwad line in his tenure, there was no state central partnership then so these proposals kept eating dust.

In the recent years we have been hearing Bagalkote- Kudchi line, I am shocked to see the viability of this project, reason being it was actually Belgaum Bagalkote proposed line, Major Cement distribution companies are based in Belgaum for covering North Karnataka region, the belt has spread across from Belgaum Yadwad, Lokapur, Bagalkote and the second belt is of Sedam, Shahbad Gulbarga region so since when the Belgaum Bagalkote Raichur line, took a shift to Kudchi Bagalkote Line God only knows, I pity the foresight of these elected representatives for such non viable projected mess up

I had earlier worked chalked a project for Belgaum Bagalkote line through Sambra as junction plus integrated freight corridor ( the station actually falls off Muchhandi /Ashte village on Belgaum- Gokak road ) and further towards Nesargi , Yargatti Lokapur and Bagalkote, further from there to Bagalkote Hungund till Raichur.

I have observed many times the freight loading earlier done at Belgaum is now carried from Desur mainly Cement and Fertilizer form Zuari Agro/Vasvdatta companies, the latest addition to this will be Dalmia Cement plant commissioning near Belgaum .

Why our district representative don’t look forward for such viable and profitable projects, which would give a credible development to be around Belgaum.

Some of major advantages of Belgaum Baglakot Raichur line

1) Connecting of Border districts of Belgaum to main land of North West Karnataka.

2) New access to Raichur, Gulbarga and Hyderabad regions can be another corridor for development, by road Belgaum already serves as gateway to Goa now.

3) Tourism coverage of Sogal, Naveel teerth, Badami, Trogal forts and many more falling under this region.

4) East port linkage for coal supply form Goa port to RTPS (Raichur Thermal Power station).

5) Inland intra port connectivity of Visakhapatnam to Goa ( Naval facilitation for new base at Belgaum)

The second story of Belgaum Dharwad line via Kittur

It was surveyed and open for commissioning since last three government in the state, the key reason being if these line get implemented there will be major shift in all north bound trains from Bangalore terminating at Belgaum, to which the politicians of Hubli are opposed the fact to support this is, twin city Dharwad has to fight for rail extension of many trains terminating at Hubli. What is the use of having SWR head quarter at Hubli though serves no purpose of development of Northern Karnataka.

KRIDE ( a joint venture of State/Central Govt (projects are done cost sharing basis) Karnataka Rail Infrastructure development Establishment) evinced interest in this proposal but MR Bommai Jr. again twisted the seen on Belgaum Dharwad line via Bailhongal , a delay of another decade may be now.

The blind MP and MLAS are driving we Belgaumites vision less and just hardly have vision for City.

Bidar being last bordering district of state getting connected to main land Karnataka through Gulbarga Bidar rail line, Why not Belgaum get similar treatment.

Small cities with quarter population as that of Belgaum have trains connecting to state capital, why are we deprived of same. The new project of Belgaum station renovation will only upgrade building and some recreation facilities, what about coach filling, powering and cleaning facilities? What about shunting lines for Rake facility?

The value of Belgaum being Divisional head Quarter is too low and having N Karnataka Regional commissioner office being based here is still having dearth of these entire basic rail infrastructure requirement. (Something like Chiraag tale Andhera)

The above facts are on the basis of news and articles and my own investigations and findings. This is to make aware and spread the right vision of Belgaumites to look forward for better future , and put across views to right authorities for better future planning of Belgaum.

Under the Then and Now series, in this particular story the time gap between Then and Now is hardly 4 days.

For development trees are chopped and made way for a more widened road on which we can ply our vehicles and emit more CO2 and the trees which used to absorb them have been cut.

THEN: photo taken on Angol Road on Tuesday 9^th February

NOW: photo taken on same spot Angol Road on Saturday 13^th February.

See the difference between the two images.

This is the tree which has been cut just near to the Shri Aai Kalavati Devi temple.

Najar milate hi hua asar sarab ke tarah

ki o haqiqat gujar gaye ek khawab ki tarah

hosh me jo aya to saya bhi na unaka

payadil ke chaman ke halat thi ujade bag ke tarah.

Belgaum in this past couple of months has been in the limelight for not so good reasons for the city as a whole. From controversies on 100 crore to its implementation. Still none of the projects under the 100 crore special grant have been completed but newer projects under said scheme are being launched.

See the trees on the road side all this will go in three days

The present one is the road widening of the Angol Road (from Big Bazaar to Shambhaji Chowk Raghunath Peth). The road will be widened to 50 feet as per the CDP(city development plan). Work has already begun on the road and first deaths are those of the trees which were standing there even before we all were born.

See the logs of wood

Logs are lying on the road side

The road does have heavy traffic and as the Aai Kalavatidevi temple is on the same road many throng the road daily.

After cutting the Tree it is set to fire, how in human

The trees have been chopped off and there was a controversy over the cutting the trees as a tender for the same was not taken out, but as it happens always, all is well again and the trees have been cut. The worst part about 98 trees have been numbered and will be cut one by one. 98 trees cut will this impact the mother nature it will for sure, but who cares!

Numbering done on each tree

The Killing is on

gutter work has begun

The road looks clean and green but once these trees are cut it will be nightmare for sure.

My questions to all people of Belgaum and those who are implementing it as well:

1. you have cut the threes will you plant any more?
   The answer to this will be yes by the authorities but there is no space now on this road, so you will get an answer that 2 trees have been planted in some jungle, how stupid.
2. Could many of the trees being saved?
   This answer is very difficult to answer for anyone, as all are in a hurry to commence a project complete it half and start another one.
3. Will the cutting of trees affect Global warming?For sure YES! 98 trees cut from a single street means so much of less oxygen and so much less of carbon dioxide in the air.
4. Last question to all, do we need this kind of development at a cost to mother nature?
   

   Save trees This hoarding is there all over the city, What an Idea Sir je

All photos: UkMaD & Team AAB
People on this blog have heavily commented on this blog on border issue and have fought it out to have their say, Belgaumites fight for this, people staying away from Belgaum when you come back it wont be your Belgaum anymore, it would rather be a different world altogether.

God Bless us!
For me personally this was even worse than the Mahatma Phule road coverage.

Source: Rajasthna Patrika by Prakash Bilgoji

In a sting operation undertaken by reporter of Patrika Mr.Prakash Bilgoji at the Belgaum railway station, a railway police cop was caught on camera accepting money.

Numerous people go to the railway station to leave someone or otherwise and there are a few railway police cops who collect money for no reason. Daily collection is about Rs.2000 from the visitors. You are not given a challan or a receipt but just asked to pay a fine, so one can understand where this money goes. Similar complaints have been made earlier as well, but no one went to the root of it.

Rajesh Sutar who was there to leave his friend had to pay Rs.300 as the cop Krishnamurthy asked for his license and other documents etc inside station premises.

The authorities have sleeked more information on this and will taken action soon. SP Sonia Narang said that, no local police or traffic constables are deployed at the railway station, it is the GRP who is in charge of this.

By Gangadhar S Patil

Twenty years ago when the Aruna Roy organized the Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan to fight for poor peasants and rural labourers in a remote village of Rajsamand district in Rajasthan, demanding the right to know often came at a heavy price. Sadly not much has changed. The recent murder of Satish Shetty, 38, a right to information (RTI) activist on January 13 in Pune underscores how, despite the enactment of a law to ensure the freedom of information, activists who seek to use its provisions are soft targets for criminals and corrupt officials.

Satish Shetty had a Belgaum connection as well. His father was in Belgaum for quite some time and then later shifted to Pune.

The nationwide RTI movement forced the enactment of the legislation of Freedom of Information (FIO) Act in 2002 and subsequently the Right to Information (RTI) Act in 2005. Over 50 countries now have freedom of information laws and another 15-20 are actively considering adopting one. The right to freedom of information derives primarily from the guarantee of freedom of expression found in Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

But with increasing use of RTI to expose corruption and maladministration, the threat to activists only grows. Shetty’s murder evokes horrific memories of the murders of Satyendra Dubey, an engineer of National Highway Authority of India and Manjunath Shanmugam, an Indian Oil Corporation executive, both killed for exposing criminals. Last year Venkatesh, another RTI activist, was murdered in Bangalore. He had sought information about encroachment on Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagar Palike land.

Ashok Halgalli (from Belgaum), an advocate is the first RTI activist to get police protection after seeking information about the assets of an IAS officer. He says “If security is required for RTI activists, it shall be given to them immediately without any delay.” One possible way to protect the RTI activist would be to inform the police authority in advance in sensitive cases, feels J S D Pani, an RTI activist.

“Corrupt public servants have not only kept a large population very poor but are also directly responsible for many deaths,” says Jayashree J N, an RTI activist from Bangalore. Unfortunately as the corrupt are in a majority, she adds, we are in a situation where seeking protection is meaningless, as the people who have to protect us are the very people creating the problem. Y. G. Muralidharan, an RTI and consumer rights advocate says activists can easily be protected provided their identity is not disclosed. This was not adhered to in Satyendra Dubey’s case.

The Act has become the most important tool in the hand of the common man. It has in fact helped people’s movements for social, economic and political justice. Whether it is the recent judgment of Delhi High Court bringing the Chief Justice of India under the purview of RTI or the India Today reporter who filed 59 RTIs to reveal how UPA ministers had made 786 foreign trips in just three and a half years and spent a minor fortune on their travels.

The very logic of the RTI would suggest that the time has come to legally protect “whistleblowers” or those who seek to expose wrongdoing. The Law Commission, the National Human Rights Commission and the Administrative Reforms Commission have all recommended such a law. After all, a government legally bound to protect the freedom of information and also has a duty to protect those who seek to exercise it.

Many at the finish line were applauding and trying to shake hands with a winner in life, at the Mumbai Marathon 2010 held recently. The man at the finish line was none other than the young 85 year Srikrishna Deshpande from Belgaum.

Mr. Deshpande retired as a postal department employee in 1981. Then started his athletic career at the age of 65.

He has been running for last 25 years now and he has ran in over 225 events in India and abroad.

Deshpande said he had taken up running to improve his health and was also encouraging his son to take part in it. For three years, the marathon has served as an annual pilgrimage for the 85-year-old.

He bagged a gold medal in an athletic meet in Sri Lanka. Lack of sponsorship forces him to spend money from his pension to participate in national or international events.

Mr. Deshpande, who has five children, six grandchildren and two great grandchildren, dreams of securing a gold medal in a world meet in his life time.

Another senior citizen and Deshpande friend Rajaram Padwal aged 67 also ran along with him. Mr.Padwal was in the MLIRC. Padwal, who ran the race wearing canvas shoes as compared to many runners who wore advanced running shoes, said he was happy with his timing given the fact that the winner had clocked one hour five minutes in the same event.

Deshpande didn’t run barefoot. He had to sport a pair of socks. He had to wear socks as they had to attach chip (to record the time) to his leg.

Source: Yahoo

Mumbai Mirror

Source: THE PAULITE LINK No. 5, Dec. 2010

By Niranjan S. Patil

Raja Lakhamgauda’s son Basavaprabhu had no son, so he adopted Bharamagauda (my elder brother) as his heir in 1944, and changed his name to Lakhamgauda Basavaprabhu Sirdesai. On Basavaprabhu’s death in 1948 Lakhamgauda Basavaprabhu Sirdesai inherited the estate. My grandfather, Balasaheb Alagauda Patil, familiarly known as Annasaheb, was Raja Lakhamgauda’s brother, whose son Shankargauda Patil was our father. I am proud and privileged to have this man as my granduncle.

To recall the greatness of the man, one incident when I must have been around 6 comes vividly to mind. We were all at home when suddenly Rajasaheb walked in and said, “Come, let us go to Vantmuri.” His main object was to thank Prabhudev for all the good things he had in life and the good he was able to do. We bundled into the car which was big enough to carry all of us and here I was kneeling (!) next to the driver wanting to look at and listen to the conversation behind. Rajasaheb was very quiet on the way and as we approached the causeway, my father asked the driver to slow down. There was excitement among the villagers as they saw the car approaching and in the commotion, the darwan was summoned to break the seal on the door meant for entry on ceremonial occasions to enable our entry. Although our visit was sudden and unexpected, the villagers had changed into their ceremonial dress and thronged the palace to acknowledge Rajasaheb’s presence. Such was the love and regard that the villagers had for my granduncle.

Below I give a life sketch of this great man who was my granduncle, as published by the K.L.E. Socierty. Students of Lingaraj College may know about him. Authority, wealth and grandeur are the privileges enjoyed by a king. However, by sacrificing these, he chose to serve his subjects, protect the culture and strove to develop his country by devoting his life to these causes. Such men are one in a million!

Vantmuri Palace (no more today)

Even Ashoka, Akbar, Vikramaditya and Krishnadevaraya, although great kings, never donated their empire for the upliftment of their subjects and development of society as did the Lingaraja dynasty. Among these samsthans, Vantmuri in Belgaum District is the hamlet that was ruled by Raja Lakhamagauda who followed this noble way of Lingaraja. Let us go back to the 15th Century in the era of the Vijayanagar Empire when the Adilshahi dynasty ruled Bijapur. During this period Prabhu Basavantrao had built a wada at Vantmuri. Raja Lakhamagauda was the 16th ruler of this samsthan, when he ascended the gadi in 1877, at the age of 13.

The great sages of Nidadoshi, Konnur and Ankalgi visited his samsthan and purified this land. Although this samsthan had a secure palace, it did not believe in keeping an armed force to protect it. Social awareness and spirituality were the ideology of this kingdom.

Raja Lakhamagauda was born on 29th July 1864 in Ammanagi village. His first name was Appasaheb and his primary education was in a Marathi school in Ammanagi. The secondary education was done partly in Kolhapur where most of the princely students studied. From Kolhapur he continued his studies in Sardar High School, Belgaum. Here, Mr.E. H. Hoogwerf, the headmaster gave special attention to Lakhamagauda. In 1882 he passed his Matriculation from Bombay University. While studying in Kolhapur, in 1880, he married Parvatidevi, the daughter of Kalyanshetty of Gokak. On July 29, 1884, he was invested with power by the British government. In 1884, his wife gave birth to a son, who was named Basavaprabhu.

Back: V.L. Desai, Great Grand Son, Front: L to R, Myself, Rajasaheb, Elder Brother, Bharamgauda, my sister Parubai

Lakhamagauda was a king who lived without greed or lust. He studied law and medicine and decided to go to England for a law degree. He left for England in 1886 and was called to the Inner Temple Bar Association of legal luminaries. Here, he deepened his knowledge and heightened his compassion for humanity. The archeological splendor and natural beauty of England mesmerized him. After being called to the bar, he visited America on his way back to India. There, he saw their educational system, industry, and Art, Science & Cultural Institutes and noted its racial population. On returning o India in 1888, he was appointed first-class Judge of Vantmuri by the British Government. Highly qualified, Lakhamagauda managed his wada efficiently and renovated his palace. In the month of Shravan, he conducted Shivpuja Purana for Hindus and also celebrated Muslim festivals thus paving the way to secularism. Whenever disputes arose which could not be solved by law, he exercised moral guidelines to settle them.

Public works such as Pasi Pool Bridge over the river Ghataprabha, the road from Hattarki to

Pachapur, construction of a Guest House, Medical Shop and Primary School were taken up at his own cost for the betterment of society. During this time, the Lingayat Education Association

of the Veerashaiva community in Dharwad provided hostel facilities with boarding for their students. Raja Lakhamgouda donated Rs. 55,000 to this association in 1901. He reiterated his ideology that “Organisation is bigger than men, Society is bigger than association and Nation is bigger than society.” Social unity, including vision, value and health, the importance of the Lingayat community and its benefits to society were some of the issues of the Veerashaiva Mahasabha held in 1904 at Dharwad. This meeting was presided over by Lingaraja of Sirsangi. At this meeting Raja Lakhamgauda spoke on “Social Development” and urged the community to unearth the lost volumes of literature and study them. He presided over the Veerashaiva Mahasabha of Bagalkhot in 1904, emphasizing religious development, social awareness and spread of education in his speech. He also emphasized ways and means to improve the agricultural sector, urging the removal of inequality in society while living in unity with compassion.

Family Group: Sitting (L to R) 1. Mrs. Neelubai Shivgauda Patil of Hargapur and her son. 2. Mrs. Lakshmibai Desai of Bhadagaon (Grand daughter of Rajasaheb) and Parvatibai, daughter of Shankargauda B. Patil (my sister), Ammanigi, 3. Rajasaheb. 4. Mrs. Tarabai Sir Desai of Vantmuri, daugter-in-law of Rajasaheb and Niranjana (myself) son of Shankagauda B. Patil of Ammanigi. 5. Mrs. Sushilabai Shankargauda Patil of Ammanigi. Standing: (L to R) 1. Bharamgauda Shankargauda Patil of Ammanigi. 2. Srimant Basawaprabhu Lakhamgauda Sir Desai of Vantmuri O.B.E. (Rajasaheb Son.) 3. Sri Shankargauda Patil of Ammanigi (Rajasaheb’s Nephew.) 4. Srimant V. Desai of Bhadagaon (Rajasaheb’s great grandson).

In 1908, the sage Shri Kumaraswamy of Hanagalwas responsible for building the Shivayoga Temple which became known as Veerashaiva University, where he started spiritual education and social service. Raja Lakhamagauda helped this sage with generous donations. His social service and the work of electrification of this complex was recognized by the British Government and he was appointed as a Member of the Legislative Council of the Bombay Presidency for three successive terms, during the tenures of two successive Governors of Bombay Presidency.

In 1917, the Karnataka Lingayat Education Centre was started by Mr. Rudragowda of Aratala, joined by Mr. Sakhare and Mr. Mamadapur. When they visited Raja Lakhamagauda and explained their activities and plans, he donated Rs. 20,000 to the Trust. They named the Belgaum Science College after him. He also donated generously to various institutions such as the Deccan Education Society, Willingdon College Sangli, Lady Irwin College Delhi, Hostel of Free Scholarship Home Kolhapur, Belgaum Public Library and various educational institutions in Belgaum.

His beloved wife Parvati Devi expired in 1917 after a prolonged illness. Despite this sorrow, he involved himself in social service. He devoted his time entirely to the upliftment of humanity. He helped the poor and needy and became their savior. To help medical service to the poor, he donated generously to several hospitals such as the Belgaum Ayurveda College, Miraj Mission Hospital, Ghataprabha Arogyadhama and the TB Eradication Centre of the Belgaum Civil Hospital.

The British Government recognized his service towards the community and education and in 1919 conferred the order of Companion of the Indian Empire (C.I.E.) and in 1930 his title as rajah was conferred. He worked towards the publication of several books on Veerashaiva culture sponsored by the Lingayat Education Association of Dharwad. He was also the leading donor towards the construction of the office building of the Karnataka Lingayat Education Society in Belgaum.

When Rao Bahadur Aratala Rudragowda stepped down as President of the KLE Society due to advancing age, Raja Lakhamagauda became the President considering his being an able lawyer, administrator an industrious social worker. In 1929, the Dharwad High School was renamed Raja Lakhamgauda Sardesai High School. In 1922 the school grew into a Degree College and Raja Lakhamgauda donated 1 lakh towards this cause. This college was named after the great donor Lingaraja and in 1944 it’s science stream was named Raja Lakhamgauda Science Institute.

Some prominent people of this area thought there was a need for a Law College and approached Raja Lakhamgauda with this proposal. Being the only barrister in this region, he gladly donated 1 lakh to the proposed Karnataka Law Society. As a token of respect, the college was named Lakhamgauda Law College. Further, he donated generously to the Karnataka College at Dharwad, right from its inception by Aratala Rudragauda. Raja Lakhamgauda worked for the development of Education for all castes and creeds, not just the Lingayats, and donated generously for their upliftment. He was a visionary and knew that all his moral and material help was for a noble cause and would bear fruit.

Being a ruler of a princely state, he was responsible for the well-being of his subjects. He mingled freely with hem and participated in their joys and sorrows. Thus, he was loved by one and all. He used to conduct cultural programs, and gave priority to health, sports and cultural activities. He showed how important and necessary these were to society and made “Kreeda Bhawan” and “Social Club” grow rapidly by leaps and bounds in Belgaum. In commemoration, Kreeda Bhawan was named after Raja Lakhamgauda. Though he was a ruler, he did not have any ego or pride and always expressed his love and compassion for the people. He aligned himself with the British Government for the benefit of society. Although he adopted British discipline, tolerance and obedience, he never distanced himself from Indian culture.

All his services to humanity prompted the socialites to organize a felicitation ceremony in which several leaders praised and blessed him. Raja Lakhamgauda was mesmerized by the love and affection bestowed on him by these patrons. He wrote a speech for the occasion, which was read by his son Basavaprabhu. He played down himself and his deeds and said that his donations to various institutions were not important but the noble utilization of them through the selfless service by these institutions was praiseworthy. He said, “I am simply a treasurer indebted to society and just return money which belongs to them.” He believed that service to mankind was the supreme service. He devoted half his lifetime for social service and empowerment through education. In a way, men such as he are the true preachers of socialism and spirituality by actual practice. At the age of 80, he expired in 1942. In 1944, the Governor of Bombay Presidency, Sir John Colville, visited Vantmuri to unveil a bust of Raja Lakhamgauda.

Note: The palace of Vantmuri was submerged in 1978/79 when a dam was built downstream at

Hidkal. Today its remains surface at the peak of summer and the surrounding villagers visit the

Prabhu Dev Temple at Sidlal, which has somehow survived even under water!

Nesargi a small village in Bailahongal taluk, 40 kms from Belgaum is no different from any other village in the vicinity. Fields, farmers working, cows, buffaloes grazing around and in the middle of all this you will find a group of 40 odd students who normally work when the village sleeps as power is available in the night designing CHIPS.

Yes CHIPS, not the potato ones but Integrated Chips used in mobile phones and other electronic gadgets. Amazed at this fact. The chips are being designed at the Karmic Training Centre (KTC) started by Dr.Shivaling S. Mahant-Shetti who has experience of 27 years in chip designing in Texas instruments USA.

All the students at the KTC are SSLC passed and who could not take up further education even though they were good at studies securing above 70% in academics. A majority of them are rural disadvantaged families of coolies etc.

The person behind setting up this Karmic Training Centre is Dr S S Mahant-Shetti. He holds 67 patents to his name and an experience of over 25 years in chip design.

Dr S S Mahant-Shetti from Bailhongal, with rich experience in research laboratories of Texas Instruments and in TestChip Technologies conducts the course and manages the Design Centre activities.

He founded Karnataka Microelectronic Design Centre Pvt Ltd (KARMIC) in Manipal which has 250 engineers designing chips. He has emerged as a team with in-depth acumen in Memory, High Performance Digital, Analog, RF and Mixed Signal domains. A unique feature of the Design Centre is that its members are drawn exclusively from KarMic Training Centre Pvt. Ltd., after a year of postgraduate training emphasizing strong team spirit as well as practical aspects of IC design.

Dr. Mahant-Shetti received the B. Tech (Hons) in Electrical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology in Bombay, in 1972. He earned Sc.M and Ph.D. degrees from Electrical Sciences from Brown University in 1975 and 1977 respectively. He worked in Astro-Med Division of Atlan Tol Industries, Warwick, RI. For five years. He joined the research laboratories at Texas Instruments, Dallas and worked for 16 years. He started the LinAsic design centre in Texas Instruments India, Bangalore in 1988-89, the first commercial chip design activity in India. Chip designing was not done those days. He learnt it the hard way. He did his schooling from Belgaum Military school.

Some of Mahant-Shetty’s Key Technical Contributions:

Long Range Opportunity -Silicon Transform Cameras, SPICE Model Verification for digital circuits, Definition of 0.6µm and 0.5µm technologies, Automatic testchip design, Several significant chip designs. As part of TestChip Technologies/Covalar, he started Karnataka Microelectronic (KarMic) Training / Design Centres in Manipal, Karnataka, India in 1999. KarMic is involved in Analog, mixed signal designs and boasts 98.2% retention.

Dr. Mahant-Shetty returned to Belgaum in 1999 and had to fulfill his social obligation. After following a lot of reconnaissance around, he set up a company in Manipal, where engineering graduates work on IT, KARMIC.
Shetty moved back to Nesargi two years back and started KTC.

The trainees at KTC Nesargi are taught same fundamentals taught to MTech students. Professionals teach them both in the classroom and computer labs. Special classes for English are the first so that they can easily read books and understand. In Nesargi the power availability in the night is more hence one can see these trainees working for a longer time in the night than in the day.

This is a great example of an out of a box thinking and also love for social obligation and repaying back to the society. Big books & people mention about corporate social responsibility but people like Dr. Mahant-Shetty need to be encouraged to carry their work ahead.

Belgaum Leadership Academy is currently conducting a Management Marathon on campus for its MBA students. 50 students on campus will be exposed to an industry first flagship management program where in they will undergo rigorous management training for 48 hours non stop.

The program commenced on 5th December at 09:00 hrs and will conclude on 7th December at 09:00 hrs. As part of this fervent management exercise students of Belgaum Leadership Academy will be exposed to a serious of events and programs conducted by industry experts.

The concept of this event was planned, conceived and executed by Dr. Aadil Bandukwala of Talent Onions Recruitment Consulting and Prof. Vishal Kalasannavar of Belgaum Leadership Academy.

Mrs. Sadhna Pote – Employment Officer of Belgaum commenced the proceedings of this exercise on the 5th of December by training students on Stress Management and Health Hazards. It was a two -ay participative session where in students for the first time were exposed to common myths and truths of day to day health and the importance of organizing one’s life to maintain decorum and release occasional stress.

Prof. Vishal Kalasannavar – Managing Director, Belgaum Leadership Academy took the students through an exciting round of management debates and explained to the students the relevance of body kinesics.

Prof. Sameer Majali facilitated a gamut of students that participated in an intensive yet intellectual round of group discussion where in themes like management education vis a vis technical education and cyber policing were discussed.

Mrs. & Mr. Vijay Majali - Founders of Kaivalya Yog Mandir interacted with the students on the importance and relevance of Yoga and undertook a live session spanning 60 minutes on Yoga.

Dr. Aadil Bandukwala – Chief Executive of Talent Onions Recruitment Consulting, kept the students awake all night by taking them through a series of online management games and business simulation exercises followed by management concepts and international tweening.

Mr. Vijay A G – Manager HRIS & Capability Building at Titan Industries Ltd., Bangalore held an exhaustive session where in the students had to dabble with functional case studies in Human Resource Management, Marketing Management and Financial Management, Bangalore

Dr. Madan – Honorary Special Police Officer of Belgaum was an active part of this management marathon and enthusiastically interacted with the students of BLA.

Important dignitaries like Deputy General Manager of BSNL, Belgaum, Joint Director of District Industries Centre along with a couple of reputed businessmen, industrialists and practicing managers also participated and engaged the students as part of this program.

The students are being trained to operate by sleeping minimally as part of this program. Sleeping zones in the form of six tents have been created and on a timely basis students are allotted sleeping / rest hours.

Prior to this management marathon of 48 hours, a week back, BLA did a pilot test by organizing a beta program of 24 hours non stop so as to successfully prepare the students of be ready for this management grandeur.

A management event of such magnitude and student involvement has been an industry first for this part of the country. The event was conceived and designed with the thought of giving the students a reality check in the world of management education and training. Setting the students aspirations right, the importance of achievement orientation and knowledge enhancement were key elements of this management marathon.

Belgaum Leadership Academy believes that one can be instrumental in contributing to National Development through the empowerment of individuals. It is by building on the human resource that one can realize the dream of being ‘World Class Leaders’ in every sense of the term.

Belgaum Leadership Academy
Kalasannavar Farms, Teachers Colony, Khasbag, Belgaum.